To ask to see the mat leave policy before I apply for the job?

[ConkerGame]

I’m early 30s, doing well at work but currently looking for a new role for promotion opportunities.

I’m being contacted by lots of headhunters about various roles and I always ask them a) what is the salary / salary range if it’s negotiable, as I’d only move for a decent pay-rise, and b) to see the mat/Pat/shared parental leave policy. I know I’m going to want kids in a couple of years and I’m the higher earner so I wouldn’t be willing to move somewhere with rubbish enhanced leave provisions.

Whenever I’ve asked for this, the headhunters look shocked and say there’s no way they could get access to that before offer stage. But to my mind there’s no point wasting everyone’s time with a couple of rounds of interview etc if I’ll take one look at the policy post-offer stage and say “no thanks”. Surely it’s best not to waste everyone’s time? And if they are the kind of employer that won’t employ someone in case they go on Mat leave then I don’t want to work there either!

Should say I’m aware most places you have to have worked there for a year to qualify for the enhanced policy, which is fine, and I’d be happy to work at the next place for a decent length of time if it all goes well, so I just see mat leave as a short period in a long career. I’m also only applying to big corporate companies, if that makes a difference, not small start ups or anything.

The most a headhunter has given me so far is “it’s competitive”, which means nothing in reality! So AIBU to think the headhunters should ask for the policy to share with potential candidates if they ask?

I was in exact same situation, although well past this now. I applied for job had several interviews asked HH for maternity policy which I never received and when offered role , got told it was 6 weeks then statutory maternity pay, and furthermore they were unwilling to negotiate package to compensate for ridiculously low maternity package.
Headhunter was actually fairly rude about me wasting his time, more so my time having gone through 6 interviews!!
it’s a double edged sword if you ask too soon you will be immediately discounted and too late it’s past the point of negotiation.
I would suggest you speak to people already working in the company and get their view. Good Luck

@Bex000 thats awful! So much time and effort could have saved if companies were upfront. I have seen some companies have announced their policies online - they are all really good, so it does make me think of a big company isn’t open about their policy then it probably isn’t any good…

My brother is a recruiter and told me I absolutely can and should ask to see all policies before accepting a job offer. He said it's fine and he's placed people in roles while they're pregnant/knowingly wanting to have children soon (I guess some people are really open!)
My thoughts are that if a company wants you, they should be more than happy to share this. It probably says a lot about them if they refuse to share..

Hi, I would have thought that this is maternity discrimination on some level! It shouldn’t be an issue that you want to have children and are planning for your future.

If it helps, I can tell you that the NHS has 8 weeks full pay, 18 weeks half pay and 13 weeks SMP (then 13 weeks unpaid). Also, lots of banks do pretty good maternity pay (potentially 9 months full pay) as long as you’re high level (which it sounds like you are).

These head hunters sound uncaring at best and discriminatory at worst.

Just call the company and ask to speak to the HR department. I wouldn't ask for a copy but just see if you can find out what it is.

@afinethingindeed that’s really helpful to know, thanks!

@Feliciacat yes maybe I’m just dealing with crap recruiters! They have also been a bit shady about some other things and are quite pushy!

@MistySkiesAreGone do you think they’d just give that info out? My thinking is that if they’ve appointed headhunters, they would be happy to share the info with them but maybe not with a random person calling?

You can do a FOI request for the maternity policy at companies.

Where I work, they wouldn't bat an eyelid and would just emailed the policy if you emailed HR.

Ohhhhbiscuits is right actually! Contact HR about it before applying. Where I work, we have people start jobs 8 months pregnant and we couldn’t give a damn if they’re the best person for the job. Ask HR directly, I can almost 100% promise they’ll be good to you about it :)

Poor punctuation in my previous post! I mean that if someone’s a great hire, their maternity status matters not!

Same where I am. We have just taken on someone who will be with us for 5 weeks before she goes off on a years maternity. Best person for the job and she has got enhanced maternity due to continuous service (HE).

FOI doesn't generally apply to companies (only public bodies like councils) but you could try it and see if they provide it rather than arguing!

I'm in a similar position and have asked recruiters to send me the salary and company benefit information before putting me forward - usually then they come back with the annual leave, pension, leave packages as standard. Could you maybe reword the request?

what happens to the work that person was hired to do 1 month after they start (genuine question as always interested on this).

I asked before my last job - if they weren’t willing to provide it or went cold that would have been a red flag for me. I’d second asking directly if the recruiters give you the run around, ime they can and do go beyond their remit on occasion.

They get maternity cover in like the would of they have been there for 1,10 or 30 years. It's no different.

So a second person is brought in as maternity cover ?

I work in HR. If I received a random phone call from someone asking for our maternity policy, I would not provide it. In the same way I would not provide information on our disciplinary or pension policy for example.

If , I had engaged headhunters I would provide them with all relevant information for the role. Any decent headhunter/recruiter should have this information available. A potential candidate asking about “package” is not an issue and I would see maternity/paternity policy as being part of that. At offer stage a full “offer pack” from my company would be sent out to the candidate containing all policies and procedures.

So to answer your question, I would say asking the headhunter would be the most obvious route.

I was in this situation and I found for some companies I was applying for I could google the policies - it does depend on the size of employer though.

I do think what you’re doing is wise though, and the recruiters should be able to provide you with this. It’s part of the overall benefits package and you wouldn’t accept another job if you didn’t know the pension contributions etc.

I wonder if you can just ask for a copy of the full benefits package to get around this? And hopefully the maternity leave policy is included.

When I've been approached by head hunters I've always made it clear what my minimum expectations would be to leave my role.

Aside from salary I always ask for a copy of pertinent policies and total reward package details.

There's no point in wasting mine or the companies time if they can't meet my expectations.

Different story entirely if I was out of work, but I'm not so I expect basic considerations to be made and respect if I'm being tapped up.

@Honeybunchcrunch thank you, that is very helpful perspective to have

@ActDottie yes maybe a change in language is what I need here, as it’s like banging head against a brick wall at the moment!

Fine to ask, but also they’re within their rights to not let you see it. Luckily I work at a university where they publish all policies on their website!

@GenuinelyDone thank you, this gives me a bit more confidence to ask. Just been surprised by headhunter reactions. They’ve all said “this is a highly unusual request” or similar 🙄

I guess the slight difference is that I do want to move, so the power isn’t entirely in my hands. But equally I’m not desperate!